Poison God's Heritage

The fiend was enormous, its sheer presence a looming shadow that threatened to swallow the battlefield whole. As it approached, its silhouette grew darker, blotting out what little light remained in the war-torn skies. When it finally rose to its full height, it would blot out the sun itself, casting a darkness so profound it would smother hope.

The cultivators, once roaring with defiance and bravery, now stood in silent awe and creeping defeat, their eyes locked onto the monstrosity that eclipsed their very will to fight.

Victory was a delusion they had tricked themselves into believing. The Rakshasas had never truly been the enemy, merely distractions, buying time for this abomination's arrival. There was no winning, not against this—there was only survival. Its power was a palpable force, a wave of malevolence rolling over the defenders, making the air heavy and their hearts sink.

This creature was a Sun Stage being, a world destroyer, and unlike the allied Suns who fought with restraint to protect the Beyond, this entity would hold back nothing. It would revel in their annihilation.

The three Suns and Tao Yang gathered, their gazes locked on the incoming terror. Each was a paragon of power, but even they felt the crushing weight of the fiend's presence. It was an ancient evil given flesh, a calamity that defied all logic.

"Immune to all Qi," the Flamboyant Sun murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, yet it carried the weight of despair. "That is extremely difficult to handle…" His usual flamboyance was tempered by the grim reality of their situation. Yet, there was no desperation in his eyes, only a fierce determination. For him, difficulties were merely puzzles to be solved, not walls to surrender to.

"The fact that it was born out of a stolen Heavenly Law is enough to make the heavens strike it down with endless fury," Tao Yang said, her voice cold and analytical, yet tinged with a trace of fear. "Yet, it has something that is hiding it away from the high heavens…"

"There is a way," the Red Sun spoke, his voice a rumble of barely contained rage. His aura was a storm held at bay, a torrent of power waiting to be unleashed. He had calmed it, reigned it in for this moment. "Sealing it. If it is impervious to Qi, we just have to lock it down to make it unable to escape… but there is only one problem."

"The Cryptic Sun is the only one who can do that…" The Flamboyant Sun finished the thought, his face darkening at the implication.

A silence followed, the only sound being the fiend's distant roars, a cacophony of doom that rattled their very bones.

The Blue Sun's voice cut through the tension, echoing from the bracelet of the Suns. "What's the situation up there?" she asked, her tone strained but still holding a fierce edge.

"Old Azure!" the Red Sun responded, a flicker of hope lighting his voice. But it was quickly smothered.

"I told you to not call me old! I'm only eight thousand years old!" she spat back, her irritation momentarily breaking the somber atmosphere. But the relief was fleeting.

Wind howled through her transmission, a sign of her speeding through the air even as she spoke.

"I apologize!" the Red Sun said quickly. "Seeing that you're able to communicate, how is the situation?"

"Not that great," she replied grimly, her voice crackling through the transmission. An unsettling silence followed, the weight of her words hanging in the air. Soon, her hologram flickered to life, revealing her bruised and bloodied state. Her hair was disheveled, streaked with blood and dirt, a stark testament to the ferocity of the battle she had endured.

On her shoulders, she carried a large wooden plank, and as she lowered it, the sight of what was on it made everyone's hearts sink. "Eternal Dusk and the Lording Sun are grievously wounded; their situation doesn't look good. And the Cryptic Sun is dead."

Shock rippled through the group, the news hitting them like a physical blow. The Cryptic Sun was dead, and not by their hands.

"Was it you? Or the Wisest Sun?" the Darkest Sun demanded, his voice a low growl of anger.

"Neither," the Blue Sun replied, her voice tight with barely contained rage. "It was the Death Sun who killed him."

"Seeing that you are still talking and still alive, I suppose you managed to kill the Death Sun also," the Red Sun said, though there was no hope in his voice.

"Negative," she said, her tone bitter. "He escaped. He used a strange gate to teleport away."

"Damn," the Red Sun cursed. "We need to find him and take him out."

"No need," she said, shaking her head. "Shen Bao made sure that the Death Sun would lose his way. I'll tell you all about it later. For now, the Wisest Sun said that he noticed something big coming your way." Enjoy exclusive content from empire

"It's coming alright," the Red Sun said, his voice heavy with dread as he glanced back at the fiend, still approaching towards them with constant speeds.

"The Wisest Sun is coming your way," the Blue Sun continued. "I'll head to Shen Bao's territory for now. I cannot assist you."

"Why not?" the Darkest Sun asked, frustration boiling over in his voice. "Ask Shen Bao to take care of the Dusking Sun and Lording Sun's wounds; he's pretty good when it comes to healing." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"That's the problem," she said, lowering the plank to reveal the full extent of the situation. Shen Bao lay unconscious, his face paler than a ghost. "Shen Bao took on both the Cryptic Sun and the Death Sun. Do you think anyone can do that without suffering?"

"What do you mean?!" Tao Yang demanded, her voice breaking with concern. "What happened to Shen Bao?!"

"He is out cold. I don't know what he did, but… he made something that is… strange, even the Wisest Sun was confused, because it was something that wasn't a Domain… it was something more… Whatever he did, it should have killed him, but he lives still—barely. I'll be carrying them back to his territory. He has several puppets trained in the art of medicine; hopefully, they'll help him."

"I'll have to withdraw…" Tao Yang began, but was cut off.

"No!" The Blue Sun's voice was firm, unyielding. "Trust in Shen Bao. Even unconscious, he has backup plans for backup plans. Once I place them for healing, I'll be joining you soon. If whatever the Wisest Sun said is even a fraction of the strength he felt, we'll need every one of us there to stop it. I'll arrive soon," she promised before cutting the contact.

The Blue Sun arrived at Shen Bao's imperial city, which was already in full alert. Rakshasa and Walkers had managed to infiltrate, some landing from the skies while others swam up from the sands of the Sea of Demons. They moved like a swarm of locusts, a plague seeking to consume all in its path.

The Blue Sun snorted, her disdain manifesting as a wave of power that exploded outward. The creatures blew up from the inside out, their blood and guts painting the sand in a grotesque display. She wasn't keen on using her hammer, fearing it would harm the already gravely wounded cultivators she carried. Her aura alone was enough to obliterate the lesser beings.

Upon arrival, both YuYu and Liang Yu rushed toward her. "What happened to Shen Bao?!" YuYu screamed, her voice cracking with fear, while Liang Yu's eyes widened in terror at the sight of his unconscious form.

"Hurry, get me the medical puppet team!" The Blue Sun ordered. Her voice was a command that brooked no argument. The two women didn't waste time; they knew there was no room for questions, no time for panic. He was alive, for now, and that was all that mattered.

They sprinted back to the palace, where the Automaton awaited them, its mechanical eyes whirring as it assessed the situation. "It seems the Master and the Lord are heavily wounded. Please come in," it said, opening a portal to the Lord of Lords pagoda.

The three were immediately intercepted by dozens of puppets, their movements precise and efficient. They rushed the injured parties to the white space of the pagoda, a lab and operation room where Shen Bao had tested and dissected his captured subjects. Now, it was being used as an emergency operation room.

"Please tell us what happened," one of the twelve puppets asked, stepping forward to question the Blue Sun.

"The two of them, Dusking Sun and Lording Sun, both suffered from Qi deficiency. Their Qi was stolen," she said quickly. "The Dusking Sun had grave internal injuries, he lost a lot of blood, and his soul is destabilized. As for Shen Bao—"

The Puppet raised its hand. "No need. Lord Shen Bao had already installed a monitor for his health. Comparing the current and old charts, we already knew what happened to him the moment he arrived."

The Puppets then began working.